A Florida man working for a Chinese company was arrested Thursday for allegedly stealing corn seed technology potentially worth millions of dollars.

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People who work with bio-engineered corn said stealing those seeds and giving them to another company is like plagiarism.

Federal authorities suspect Mo Hailong, also known as Robert Mo, stole inbred corn seed from testing fields at Dupont Pioneer and Monsanto, then conspired to transport the trade secrets to a Chinese-based seed company.

“These are the reason these companies exist,” said Jeff Wolt, an agronomy professor at Iowa State University.

Wolt said the companies provide pest protection and keep producers one step ahead of weeds, insects and diseases. He said it takes years and money to develop bio-engineered seed. Federal authorities said the potential loss could be up to $40 million.

“These are high-value products,” Wolt said. “They are an important part of Iowa agriculture, as well as agriculture here in the Midwest.”

Story City farmer Nick Hermanson said he relies on seed technology to produce more grain.

“These companies are out there trying to, you know, innovate and produce a better product and basically, if they’re stealing research, that’s theft,” Hermanson said.

Authorities initiated the probe when Dupont Pioneer security alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation to suspicious activity in corn production fields.